


Set me down gently

by plumblossomed



Series: SasuSaku Month 2019 [12]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, SasuSaku Month 2019, Uchiha Clan - Freeform, sasuke is a dad and that both warms and breaks my heart every time, ssm19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 22:15:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19777534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumblossomed/pseuds/plumblossomed
Summary: Day 12: gravitationSasuke only has one arm, and it is usually reserved for carrying Sarada.





	Set me down gently

**Author's Note:**

> this is connected to my piece from day 1. I wasn’t sure what to write (as usual lol) but I got so excited seeing the sasuke retsuden cover I had to post something!! What goes up must go down, even the cutest bb sarada

Sarada liked to be held. Their friends claimed she would never learn to walk with how often Sasuke had her cradled to his side with one arm, but he didn’t care. He always insisted on carrying Sakura while she was pregnant, but she was an adult who could use her words and claimed she could walk just fine. She indulged him when Sarada was actually born: he got to use susanoo as he carried them through the forest on the way back home. Sarada, on the other hand, would cry until she was scooped up in his arms. As soon as he saw her precious face for the first time, he knew he would deny her of very little. 

“She has to come down eventually,” Sakura chided Sasuke as he toted their daughter around while he did household chores. Sasuke tucked Sarada closer to him, “later.” Sakura got to hold her for nine months straight, he wanted his moment. 

* * *

Even when Sakura tried to set their baby down for a nap, she would cry and fuss until someone picked her up. A little rocking in their arms, and she would fall asleep instantly. She was more likely to open her mouth for the spoon full of mush when her parents held her instead of sitting her in a high chair. Honestly, Sarada was too adorable and cuddly and squishy for her parents to resist. At least that was Sakura’s excuse. 

One night, they closed the door to Sarada’s room after putting her to sleep. “Clingy like her mother,” Sasuke joked softly. “I’ll show you clingy,” Sakura whispered before hopping on Sasuke’s back, locking her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He carried her like that to their bedroom and muttered, “never said it was a bad thing.” 

* * *

And their clinginess, their love for physical affection made it even more difficult for Sasuke to leave on his mission. He wouldn’t be there to kiss his girls goodnight or carry them to bed when they fell asleep. Distance would never change the fact that he was a husband and father, but it would still hurt his heart. If he held his daughter close enough now, would she know how much he loved her when she grew up without him? If he kissed his wife deeply enough now, would she forgive him for leaving her once again? It seemed all he could offer was a forehead poke, but Sakura understood how it held the promise of his return and protection from the shadows. Their connection was greater than just physical. 

On the night before he left the village, Sasuke carried his daughter to bed one last time. She was getting bigger and heavier, but it was nothing compared to the burden he had to shoulder for the sake of the village. As much as he wished the circumstances were different, he would have to set her down after all. The only thing that calmed his mind was that she had Sakura. 

* * *

By the time Sasuke returns to the village, she’s old enough to walk up trees and run around on missions with her team. She didn’t need him to carry her anymore, but a hug goodbye the next time he leaves wouldn’t hurt anyone. Sasuke was never one for physical affection until he got together with Sakura and had a child, but he was always drawn to them with a need to be close to them. They were at the center of his world and he would carry them in his heart, always. 

**Author's Note:**

> this started out cute enough but by the end i actually made myself so emo because sasuke loves his girls so much wow T-T also people told my mom i wouldnt learn how to walk too but i became a dancer so take that!


End file.
